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Arthur Beltran, who is pursuing an educational doctorate, writes in this opinion article about the possibility of schools trading in expensive technology systems for free -- openly available -- alternatives. He offers some examples of free and open-source software, including OpenOffice.org, which is an alternative to Microsoft Office, and Moodle, an online management system. Using such tools, he writes, can help free schools from the commercial software market.

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A rural school district in Alabama used E-Rate funding to partner with a vendor to establish a wireless network so that students without home Internet access could take advantage of a district technology program. Officials say they were able to secure devices for students to take home, but finding available -- and free -- Internet connections became challenging.

Mozilla's Network Security Services library family is a leading alternative to OpenSSL, Serdar Yegulalp writes. In addition to such Mozilla products as Firefox and Thunderbird, the software supports AOL Instant Messenger, OpenOffice.org 2.0 and Red Hat Directory Server, he writes. Other alternatives include GnuTLS, MatrixSSL and PolarSSL.

School officials in Nashua, N.H., have crafted new social media policies that offer guidelines for educators on electronic communication with students. Under the policies, which must be approved by the school board, teachers would be encouraged to create "fan pages" on Facebook to interact with students, rather than "friending" them. The policy also outlines other acceptable modes of communication such as Moodle, while discouraging others, such as sending text messages.

New school-learning platforms, such as Frog and Studywiz take a Facebook-like approach to classroom technology that British educators say is keeping students engaged in learning. Frog allows students to post comments and update their status. Studywiz is planning a version that will allow students to upload digital media files and share them. Some educators also are using Moodle, which is a free learning platform.

More K-12 teachers are using course-management software to communicate with students and parents as well as introduce an online component to traditional classes. Blackboard is slated this week to debut an enhanced version of the software for smaller schools and districts, with an annual price tag of $10,000, but there are online systems, like Moodle, that make open-source course-management software available for free.